Anthera: Secrets of Shara

Session 7

Went on a few patrols with Falconrath. Aryn gives me his pain with every step. Spoke with some shepherds and other pastorals, warning them of the imminence of Draekan attacks. By Aryn’s grace, we ran into no trouble.

When we were in the mess hall in the evening, overheard Macwin’s men discussing Adela’s alleged failure to follow orders. They have orders to off her. Sharan filth. I hope that Elwrit was not the source of this order. Her help has been a blessing – she very well may be an ally. With the order to bring Rar before the king, I considered that this may be a time to act.

Falconrath decided to approach Elwrit to see if he was indeed the source of the order. He discovered that the order had indeed come from Elwrit, but that Elwrit claimed she was just to be apprehended.

I approach Falconrath with a proposition to liberate Rar, with the aim of getting him out of the King’s clutches. If Aryn wills it, I will join Rar.

I suggest to Falconrath that we encourage Rar to escape and create a distraction to do so. Realizing that the sex-deprived and ignorant men of camp will be easy to manipulate, we insinuate that Murial will prize the strongest and most virile of men. We work to instigate a competition to occur in front of Murial’s window.

Our plan did not come to fruition. In a storm, Draeken attacked our barracks in the night. Cadyrn and I roused from our beds with the sound of a man’s death. Aryn’s will suffused me and I brought his death in arcs. Aryn’s glorious agony focused my swings and the thing clamored for its death. I threw him off his attack on Cadyrn, setting him back on his heals as Cadayrn advanced upon him.

I realized my mission and—trying to throw the Draeken off his mark—pretended to shout for Rar in behind the Draeken, who, unphased, I left to battle Cadaryn his other opponent as I ran to Rar.

The surges of the Arcadian Host pulling me forward, I made my way into Rar’s barracks to see him beheading his foe. Aryn watches him, and he is mighty. I kept eyes on him as he continued to unleash his fury, punching his own wound to keep his mind focused on the lament of Aryn.

As the last of the Draeken in the barracks lay dead, Cadaryn and Falconrath rallied their men. Someone, maybe Falconrath, called out that there were Draeken in the keep. I saw that Aryn gave me passage to take the White Human out of this trouble, I asked him would he run or fight, but I already knew the answer. He would not go, not with the Fury of Aryn in him. I felt it too. Through darkness, the light of our escape!

Rar and I advanced on the keep, my body rebelling against Aryn’s wisdom. I mortified it and advancing with His speed to catch up with Rar’s long strides. Once inside, I unleashed His fury on one of the draeken within. A Draeken commander called for a subordinate to capture Rar, and he through a lasso around Rar’s neck, trying to drag him out of the keep. I attacked him, as did everyone else in the room and I saw Murial’s arrow pierce its throat with an eerie crack.

My body rebelled again as I limped toward my foe. Another draeken jumped from the balcony of the keep to take the rope around Rar’s neck, it took another arrow from Murial. I charged him and swung mightily, cracking the things ribs through his torso. Rar buried his axe in his head. The final draeken fell from the balcony, thrown by the Crimson Guard.

I have learned from Murial that Macwin was possessed by a fiend. It occurs to me that aethyr-wrought beings may have inhabited others, and I am looking into their eyes for signs of the darkness . . . my wound pains me; Aryn keeps me focused, keeps me pure. The blackshods and the draeken fall – an opportunity to bring Rar to the church closes in.

Session 7

Brightspring 37
• Exarch Morcain visits Muriel, interviewing her about her progress investigating the roots of the scaphling of Tegryn. He also inquiries about Rar and Horst, and ensures Muriel will help him return Rar to Anvora.
• Ralf and Caderyn overhear a blackshod talking about being chosen by Macwin to search for Adela and bring her to camp. Horst decides to speak with Lt. Elwrit about this.
• Muriel attends dinner with Sgt. Macwin. During the conversation, Macwin tells Muriel he knows about the man she took from the dungeon, but that he has covered her tracks for her. Then, Macwin charms Muriel, forcing her to want him sexually. When she comes to her senses, Muriel leaves.

Brightspring 38
• Horst speaks with Elwrit, who confirms he did order Macwin to seek out Adela. Elwrit explains that Adela hasn’t been reporting as required, and she is to be brought in for questioning. Horst requests permission to bring Adela in, but Elwrit refuses due to Horst’s connection to Rar.
• Ralf and Horst speak about Adela, and Ralf suggests they liberate Rar in a ploy to seek her out.
• Sgt. Macwin departs the outpost with 2 blackshod and 2 lightboots.
• Horst speaks to Rar about escaping the outpost and the reality of the King’s Invitation. Rar agreed to attempt to flee when the opportunity presents itself.
• Muriel visits Rar and speaks with him, trying to convince him of the prestige in visiting the King Voranthis. He refers to her as “breeding stock,” and she departs.

Brightspring 39
• Muriel kills her sacrifice and sees a force of Draken attacking the outpost in a storm. As she sneaks back up the cliff-face she stumbles across Macwin, huddled at the base of a tree. After a fierce struggle and chase, Muriel kills Macwin, revealing that he was possessed by a demon she recognizes as Geist.
• Horst and Rar, and Caderyn and Ralf are woken by the attacking Draken and defend themselves.
• Caderyn seeks surviving blackshod in the outpost while Horst rushes toward the combat in the keep. Several blackshod defend Elwrit, who is unconscious, and one of Exarch Morcain’s Crimson Guard holds the balcony. When Rar reaches the keep, the draken focus on him and attempt to capture him.
• After the attack, 12 blackshod remain alive, most injured, and 10 draken corpses are recovered.

Session 6

Brightspring 34
• Before dawn Therius leaves. He and Ralf have a short conversation before Therius moves towards Mt. Tregeron.

Brightspring 35
• Early in the morning, the group reaches Summerhill Outpost.
• Horst de-briefs Sgt. Elwrit and learns that Exarch Morcain has arrived with an invitation summoning Rar to an audience with the King.
• Muriel runs into Sgt Macwin who invites her to dinner, scheduled for the next night.
• Muriel breaks a young man out of the Summerhill Keep dungeons, traps him in a sea cave, and begins torturing him.

Brightspring 36
• Exarch Morcain speaks to Rar, extending the King’s invitation.
• Elwrit hold a council and plans a defense of the southern hills of Tegryn Island against the missing draken.
• Caderyn talks to several blackshod, learning that Sgt. Macwin has been out of sorts. He speaks with Macwin as well, who listens to his account of traveling the north side of the Island.
• Horst talks to Rar, explaining the implications of the King’s invitation.
Ralf talks several blackshod and sends a missive to his superiors.

Session 5

Brightspring 32
• Horst’s party leaves from the shipwreck, heading back to Summerhill Outpost. Horst plans a route cutting through the northern foothills of the Mt. Tregeron.

Brightspring 33
• Muriel sees scaphling following the group from afar as the party travels.
• At sundown, a large group of scaphling and pine wolves attack. Kingsward Therius and Adela arrive during the battle, warning that more scaphling riders are approaching.
The group follows Therius towards a defendable outcropping of rock. En route, Therius refers to Rar as “slave” and Rar lashes out, but is quickly smote down by the Kingsward.

Session 4

Brightspring 26
• After the battle, Horst is left in charge of tending to casualties
• Horst speaks with Elwrit and decides to take a small force to rid the island of the remaining draken.

Brightspring 28
• Horst, gatherers his group and departs for the NW coast of the Island.

Brightspring 29
• While on watch, Ralf sees a person being chases by two draken.
• The entire group chases the draken down and kill them in a copse of trees. The person they were chasing escapes into the night.
• Horst and Ralf track the chase back to a point where they smell smoke from a camp site.

Brightspring 30
• The group cannot find the campsite Horst and Rar detected the night before and continues north along the coast.

Brightspring 31
• At camp, Muriel sees several hunched forms ahead on the beach. They quickly retreat the way they came.

Brightspring 32
• The group sees the draken palisades around midday and begins planning.
• Ralf splits off from the party and is able to see that the draken camp is deserted.
• Caderyn finds a string of drowned goblins on the mudflats in front of the draken shipwreck during low tide.

Session 3

Lt Elwrit’s orders arrive at Summerhill Outpost. Macwin is left in charge of the outpost with a skeleton crew and Falkenrath takes the 15 remaining soldiers south towards Abermad.

Brightspring 23
• Sgt Horst’s group arrives at the staging area set up by Caderyn.

• Late that night, Adela arrives and reports to Sgt Falkenrath. She reports evidence that the draken attacked the fae camps on the Northwest side of the island and are marching south.

Brightspring 24
• Horst commands his unit to march south to try to intercept the draken raiders.

• Adela sent north to warn Macwin and continue her surveillance.

• A camp guard hears moaning in the dark and Horst, Rar, Ralf, and Murial find a well in a copse of trees with a lantern hanging above it. Ralf convinces the scouting party that something cult related is happening and it should be left alone for the time being.

Brightspring 26th
• Horst’s unit reaches the hills near Ram and learn from scouts that the draken are getting closer. The soldier hide in a low point.

• Horst’s unit catches the draken between themselves and Elwrits troops. They draken are defeated with moderate casualties for the Sharans.

Adela's Narrative

Adela watched Lestibournes leave her table and she exhaled slowly. He was nothing like Therius, whose quiet arrogance put her at ease. This Astreli was too astute, and the way he spoke to her, with casual familiarity like they were close acquaintances, made her uncomfortable. She stiffened as he turned back, but he wasn’t coming back to her table. Instead, Lestibournes turned towards the ale casks. Adela noticed his eyes flick upwards and saw his lips move silently. She following his gaze to where a sleek martin clung to the rafters.

Adela began chewing on a strand of knotted hair. She hadn’t seen the creature when she had entered the pavilion and she hadn’t seen it climb up to its perch. She assumed it was unnatural, clearly it was connected to Lestibournes in some way. That didn’t bother her, but the fact that she hadn’t noticed its arrival made her heartbeat rise. She spat out her hair and quickly began eating her stew, glancing behind her at the cool comfort of the darkness outside the pavilion.

Lestibournes walked with several pitchers towards a table where the Blackshod, Grath, and seven of his cohorts sat. Adela paused, curious. Had the Astreli befriended the brutish blackshod? Grath and his buddies were some of the most volatile soldiers at Summerhill Outpost. Adela watched Grath. He stood up, his body language tense, his face stiff with animosity. No, Lestibournes hadn’t won over the soldier, but he was foolishly trying. Grath and Lestibournes exchanged some words that Adela couldn’t hear across the pavilion. Grath cocked back his arm and swung wildly at Lestibournes. The Astreli clearly saw it coming, casually stepping back to avoid the punch.

Lestibournes shrugged and turned to leave. Grath pushed Lestibournes from behind, causing the Astreli to stumble. Lestibournes turned back slowly. He snapped open a book and said something incomprehensible. There was a noise like a hollow crack and oily smoke billowed from Lestibournes’ outstretched hands. Adela saw a flash of fear in his expression, briefly replacing his confident smirk. She realized that something had gone wrong with his magic.

Grath recoiled from the smoke, then pulled a knife and lunged at Lestibournes. In an instant, Grath’s companions were there as well, surrounding the Astreli. Lestibournes continued chanting in a quick, staccato language. Oily smoke began to seep from the air around him, coalescing into of several duplicates of the Astreli. The soldiers mobbed Lestibournes, the duplicates sowing confusion amongst them. When the duplicates were struck, they dissolved, smoke billowing from them. A soldier grabbed Lestibournes from behind, who continued his chant. Grath stabbed low but his blade turned aside at the last moment, a burst of smoke rushing away from Lestibournes. One of Grath’s companions grabbed a halberd from an on-duty blackshod and began harassing Lestibournes from atop a table. Smoke grew into more duplicates, and as Lestibournes’ chant rose to a shout, a blast of flame erupted from him. Grath and the soldiers in front of Lestibournes were engulfed. Adela saw their overcoats incinerate and they staggered away, giving Lestibournes a moment of space.

The soldier holding Lestibournes shoved him to the ground and the soldiers piled around, crowding in, kicking and stabbing. Adela couldn’t see Lestibournes but she heard his muffled chanting. The soldiers surrounded a tangle of smoky shapes. Another blast of flame hurled Grath into a table. His face was charred. He didn’t move. The other soldiers continued to batter Lestibournes and Adela couldn’t hear the chant anymore.

Bells were ringing. Blackshods on duty were being called to arms.

“Rogue magician in the pavilion! Get Sergeant Macwin!”

Adela tasted blood and started. She realized she was standing on her table and had chewed into her cuticle during the fight. Sergeant Macwin rushed into the pavilion and called off the soldiers beating Lestibournes’ body. Adela briefly met eyes with Sergeant Falkenrath as he entered, only a moment behind Macwin. Falkenrath quickly began talking to the soldiers and once his attention was diverted, Adela slipped off her table and into the darkness.

Kingsward Therius was expecting Lestibournes. Adela bit her lip. She knew she wasn’t obligated to do so, but realized she was already planning to make her way back to Therius’ camp to inform him. Why did she care? She didn’t usually like people and she found that she liked Therius. It made her anxious. She didn’t even really like Sergeant Falkenrath, and he was one of the only respectable men at the outpost. Had Therius done something to her mind to make her serve him? She didn’t remember anything strange during their meetings. She didn’t even know if he was capable of such a thing.

After only a few minutes, Adela had packed her scouting rucksack and was climbing to the roof of her barracks. Because of her report of the draken shipwreck earlier that day, the gates of the outpost were closed and barred. They wouldn’t open until the next day. Adela quickly hauled herself over the wall, quietly dropping down on the outside. She breathed the night air and let the tension ease from her neck and shoulders. The moon shone from behind Mount Tregeron, silhouetting the mountain’s peaks, making navigation simple. Adela tighten her sack over her shoulder and jogged into the darkness.

As Adela made her way into the darkness, a weasel-shaped shadow flickered along the wall where Adela had crossed, then slowly oozed back inside the outpost.

Introduction

[To Muriel and Lestibournes] Your ship should have docked last night. Shortly after leaving Anvora, a storm blew up. It’s a miracle you have made it to Tergryn Island at all, with the winds it was easy to imagine your ship sinking. That’s what you assume happened to the sorry piece of human flotsam the crew fished out of the strait just before dawn. [gesture to Rar] The man is as broad as any human you’ve ever seen, naked, aside from the blankets one of the seamen put over him. He hasn’t said anything all morning, and still clutches the chunk of jagged wood that saved his life – a broken mast or maybe a large oar. Strangest of all, the man is pale. Not albino-white, but a pinkish flesh color, just like an Astreli.

Now, your ship has finally made it to the “port” of Abermad, home to a handful of small fishing boats and little else. A handful of stone buildings are clustered around the dock. Behind them, a dirt path leads up the hillside, weaving through a single line of shanties. At the top of the hill, you can make out the red-shingled roof of what must be the fabled “Red Lion:” the only inn on all of Tegryn Island.

A small cluster of Blackshod soldiers stand at the base of the dock, a dark patch of red and black against the dreary gray of the port buildings. Captain Rotheart is the first off the ship, striding towards the soldiers purposefully. He swiftly salutes the officer who advances to meet him, a lieutenant by the plume on the helm he holds under one arm.

“Er, yessir, she’s on board. But, er, anyways, I picked up a castaway. I’d like to leave him with you”

The lieutenant snorts, “heh, I’m not dealing with some refugee you picked up in the storm, Rotheart.”

“Well,” Rotheart replies, “this one you’ll want.” He leans in and whispers something to the lieutenant, then finishes loudly, “and if all that is some hoax, the kid is a draken slave, probably worth a fortune. I’m heading across the sea to Cornvald next or I’d take him back to Anvora myself.”

“Heh, sure. This just might cover it.” [To Horst] “Sergeant, get the draken slave from the ship and take him up to the Red Lion. [quietly] the captain says he’s got Astreli-skin. If it’s true, try to keep him out of sight as best you can.”